Calzaghe 'knocked out' by CBE
2008-06-14 18:31
London - World boxing champion Joe Calzaghe said he was "knocked out" after his unbeaten run as a professional was recognised with the award of a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the Birthday Honours List of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
A CBE is just one rank below a knighthood.
For Calzaghe, unbeaten in 45 professional fights and already the holder of the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) medal, this latest award came as a complete surprise.
"For the first time in my life I was knocked out," said Calzaghe, unbeaten in 45 professional fights.
"It's unbelievable when I think back to when I was a kid that one day I would have achieved so much through boxing, and my teachers laughed at me when I said I was going to be a boxer," added the 36-year-old Welshman, whose split decision win over Bernard Hopkins in Las Vegas in April saw him recognised as the world number one in two weight divisions.
Also receiving a CBE was former England rugby union captain Bill Beaumont. Back in 1980 he led England to a Grand Slam in the then Five Nations tournament and has since gone on to become a leading rugby administrator.
World Cup winner Lawrence Dallaglio, another ex-England captain, was made an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire).
This followed his retirement as player earlier this month which culminated with the back-row forward helping Wasps win the English Premiership final.
"It is fantastic that Lawrence and Bill Beaumont have both been honoured and it is excellent news for the sport of rugby union in England," said Rob Andrew, director of elite rugby at the Rugby Football Union (RFU), in a statement ahead of England's Test against New Zealand in Auckland.
Beaumont, a lock in his playing days, won 34 caps for England but the CBE was also awarded in recognition of his charity work.
"I am honoured and delighted. I was fortunate enough to receive an OBE for playing the game in 1982, and now 26 years later to get this award for other things which I have managed to achieve makes you feel very humble," he said.
Dallaglio receives the OBE having been awarded an MBE after England's 2003 World Cup triumph.
Dallaglio spent his entire senior rugby career at Wasps and helped establish the London side as one of both England and Europe's leading teams in the professional era.
In nearly two decades at Wasps, he won five league titles and two European Cups. Dallaglio won 85 England caps and was selected for three British and Irish Lions tours.
Beaumont added: "Lawrence has been an outstanding player for England and an outstanding leader.
"To end up winning the Premiership final as the culmination of his career was very fitting."
England's John Surtees, the only man to win world motorsport titles on both two wheels and four, was promoted to an OBE from MBE.
Surtees, now 74, won seven world titles on 350cc and 500cc motorcycles from 1955-1960 and, in 1964, won the four-wheel Formula One World Championship driving for Italian team Ferrari.
David Morgan, the former chairperson of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the chairperson-elect of the International Cricket Council was also made an OBE.
- AFP